At dusk the next day, Sesshomaru walked at the head of the group, with Han carrying her bow and arrows beside him and Jaken holding the Human-Head Staff. Behind him followed monsters of every strange shape and size, all bristling with aggression.
No monsters moved outside the Leopard Cat Tribe's castle, but cat monsters were secretly watching from the sentry posts within.
The cat monsters lay quietly in ambush inside the castle. There were many of them.
Sesshomaru reached the castle gates. Before he could raise his hand, they opened on their own, their grating creaks painfully sharp in the silence.
"Lord Sesshomaru..." the monsters behind him called uneasily under their breath.
Sesshomaru did not answer.
Clap, clap, clap. Applause suddenly rang out, and three men and one woman leaped out in front of them. The blue-haired girl who had delivered the Challenge Letter spoke first. "Just as expected of Lord Sesshomaru. You came to your death right on time."
Sesshomaru remained expressionless, but a bright Light Whip extended from his fingertips. Jaken quietly took a step toward Han. Lord Sesshomaru was angry. These foolish cat monsters were doomed.
"Let me tell you who's going to kill you today. I'm Xialan." The pretty girl with short red hair revealed her pointed canine teeth. Folding her arms across her chest, she flicked her tawny tail through the air and proudly raised her chin.
"I'm Haruran." The lovely girl in a short blue-green yukata smiled faintly and plucked a petal from the five-pointed flower on her head.
"I'm Qiuran," the only man among the four declared loudly. He wore only an unfastened dark green haori over his upper body, leaving his broad, sturdy torso fully exposed.
Sesshomaru raised his hand, his long Light Whip dancing through the air. "I'm Sesshomaru, the one